Rastislav Stana leads all Swedish Elite goaltenders with a 1.25 goals against average and a .960 save percentage.

He has been rock solid in Sodertalje's first four games. Stana had some success in Portland of the AHL and with the Capitals last season, and could be a late bloomer if and when he decides to return to North America. Mon, Oct 4, 2004 01:25:00 PM

Depth Charts

Nicklas Backstrom picked up a goal and an assist in Friday's 4-2 win over the New York Rangers.

Backstrom's goal at the 11:42 mark of the second period gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at the time. He also helped set up Tom Wilson's goal with under two minutes remaining in the game. Backstrom has now accumulated five points in his last two contests. He's up to five goals and 25 points in 29 games this season. He's on pace to hit the 70-point mark for the fifth consecutive year.

Evgeny Kuznetsov registered three assists in a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday.

Kuznetsov recorded his first multi-point game since Nov. 30, assisting on the game's opening before dishing two more assists in the third. Kuznetsov now has 10 goals and 34 points in 32 games this season.

Lars Eller found the back of the net in Monday's 4-1 loss to the Calgary Flames.

Eller opened the scoring just 1:02 into the first period, but the Flames managed to score four unanswered goals the rest of the way. The Caps center finished the night with a plus-1 rating, two penalty minutes and three shots on goal in 17:33 of ice time. The goal puts an end to Eller's eight-game goalless drought. He has four goals and eight assists in 21 games.

Beagle has only been held off the scoresheet once in his last five contests. He keep his run going by registering an assist in Washington's 5-2 win on Tuesday. That brings him up to four goals and 11 points in 32 contests in 2017-18.

Jakub Vrana found the back of the net in the Capitals' 5-2 win against Colorado on Tuesday.

It was Vrana's ninth goal and 13th point in 31 games in 2017-18. That's not a bad showing for the 21-year-old sophomore when you consider that he's only been averaging about 13-and-a-half minutes so far this season. He's not a bad player to hold onto in deeper keeper leagues, but his value in standard leagues is minimal for now.

Although he did not record a point in Friday's 4-2 win over the Rangers, Andre Burakovsky impressed coach Barry Trotz with his performance.

Trotz thought Burakovsky had good jump and did not look rusty despite being sidelined since October 21st with a broken thumb. If you have not already done so, activate Burakovsky as he will likely get ample power-play ice time and will be in the Capitals' top six.

In case you haven't noticed, Tom Wilson has been on fire the past month and is proving to be an extremely valuable fantasy player.

In his last 13 games Wilson, who is now playing on the Capitals' top line with Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, has 11 points. He has three goals and four assists during a three--game point streak. That along with his 68 penalty minutes and plus-seven rating makes Wilson a fantasy monster. If he can be acquired reasonably don't hesitate to pick him up.

Peluso has no points in three AHL games this season. The 28-year-old has appeared in 142 career NHL games, but none since the 2015-16 campaign. He has 14 points and 209 penalty minutes in his 142-contest NHL career.

Devante Smith-Pelly recorded an assist in Washington's 4-2 win over the Rangers Friday night.

Smith-Pelly has only been held off the scoresheet once in his last four contests. He's up to four goals and 10 points in 30 contests this season. His single season career-high in points in 25 and he might finish around there in 2017-18.

The defenseman is having a comeback season with 20 points in 27 games after a down season for him in 2016-17 when he had 37 points in 72 games. He should get 55-60 points this season with the Capitals if he can remain healthy and that should be good enough to be a top-five scoring defenseman in the NHL.

Coach Barry Trotz plans to ease Niskanen back into the lineup, but he could see his typical 20-plus minutes of playing time if there aren't any issues. Niskanen was paired with Dmitry Orlov during the morning skate.

Dmitry Orlov found the back of the net in Monday's 3-1 loss to the New York Islanders.

Orlov finally got the Capitals on the board at the 8:23 mark of the third period, but it was too late for them to make a comeback at that point. The Russian blue liner finished the game with four shots on goal and three hits in 21:56 of ice time. Orlov has three goals and eight assists in 31 games. He doesn't need to be owned in any fantasy league.

Brooks Orpik has been averaging 22:16 minutes this season, up from 17:47 in 2016-17.

Orpik is 37-years-old so it wasn't surprising to see his role gradually decline in recent years. However, the Capitals lost defensemen Kevin Shattenkirk, Nate Schmidt, and Karl Alzner over the summer. On top of that, Matt Niskanen (hand) is on the long-term injured reserve list. Orpik doesn't do much offensively, so even with his increased role he's not worth owning in standard leagues. However, he is noteworthy when it comes to hits (36) and blocked shots (31).

Braden Holtby made 22 saves on 24 shots in a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night.

One game after allowing three goals on 12 shots, Holtby did his best to preserve a victory for the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. His record now improves to 17-7-0 with a 2.64 GAA and a .918 save percentage.

Philipp Grubauer stopped 24 of 25 shots in Monday's 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks.

After dropping his first four games, Grubauer has now won back-to-back games (he's also given up one goal in each game). The Capitals backup goaltender managed to keep the Sharks off the board in the first and third periods, but he allowed a goal to Timo Meier in the middle frame. Grubauer has a 2-5-1 record with a 3.21 goals-against-average and a .893 save percentage this season.